̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge - experimental medicine

Training a new breed of clinical triallist

skbf2 — Thu, 03 Feb 2022 11:48:27 +0000

Cambridge's Experimental Medicine Initiative, working with AstraZeneca and GSK, is training specialists who can work out at an earlier stage of clinical trials if a treatment is likely to succeed.

GSK/Cambridge Strategic Partnership aims to develop next wave of ‘game-changing’ medicines

cjb250 — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 12:10:11 +0000

̽��ֱ��GSK/Cambridge Strategic Partnership builds on collaborations between the partners that bring together a variety of unique and complementary expertise and capabilities, from basic biology through to clinical studies, which when combined could transform how we develop the next wave of ‘game-changing’ medicines.

At an event being held at Trinity Hall, ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, to celebrate the partnership, researchers from all three organisations will be showcasing existing projects, which include research towards new medicines for brain trauma, cystic fibrosis, osteoarthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and the development of cutting-edge imaging techniques.

So far, the partnership has brought together scientific and clinical experts and provided access to research infrastructure across the university and hospital, including that provided by the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. This has led to a growing range of active collaborations, including pre-clinical and clinical research projects, studentships and post-doctoral appointments, training and education, drug discovery workshops and a Knowledge Exchange Programme. ̽��ֱ��partners are looking at ways of building stronger links between their respective programmes focused on Africa and on the search for new medicines for neglected tropical diseases.

Professor Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, says: “Our vision for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is to pursue world-leading biomedical research and translate this into new or improved diagnostics and treatments. Key to this vision are partnerships with industry.

“Our collaboration with GSK builds on the strengths of each partner to create a relationship that is far greater than just the sum of its parts. It gives our academics access to the technologies and molecules that only industry can provide while giving GSK access to the world-leading research knowledge at Cambridge, delivering valuable impact for both partners.”

̽��ֱ��relationship champions the value of industry-academia collaboration to build trust and enable scientists to share complementary skills and expertise. A GSK ‘Entrepreneur in Residence’ to the university provides support to academics to encourage translational thinking. By supporting academics in their applications to translational funding programmes, GSK seeks to leverage its investment and grow the partnership further.

A Varsity Funding Programme, overseen by a Joint Steering Committee and part of the Strategic Partnership, directly funds collaborative projects focused on developing new medicines across the breadth of GSK research areas of interest, such as small molecules, biopharmaceuticals and cell/gene therapy. In addition to this core focus the Varsity programme also supports enabling/fundamental scientific projects which aim to address clear gaps in our understanding of disease and drug mechanisms.

Experimental Medicine

A key component of the partnership is a more targeted approach to testing medicines in patients known as ‘experimental medicine’. Early stage R&D has, until very recently, been limited to lab and animal-based research. As a result, it has been very difficult to accurately identify new targets and to measure the impact of potential new medicines on disease; in recent years, only around 10% of compounds entering clinical trials have succeeded. With recent technological advances, it is now possible to examine how different diseases behave in individual cells in the body, and the impact of potential new medicines on disease processes.

For example, a collaboration between Professor Andres Floto at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Dr Rab Prinjha at GSK is looking at a potential new treatment for inflammatory lung disease. ̽��ֱ��team is using state-of-the-art remote monitoring devices to study precisely how certain inflammatory molecules affect the symptoms of disease in a small group of patients. If this small study suggests they are effective in reducing the chemical signs of the disease, then a larger, more expensive clinical trial may be justified. If, on the other hand, the results are negative, the expense, time and impact on patients of a clinical trial can be spared.

Paul-Peter Tak, Head of Immuno-Inflammation at GSK and a lead on the Cambridge partnership, says: “At GSK, we believe that working alongside scientists from outside our labs is crucial to strengthening our understanding of human disease. ̽��ֱ��scientific community needs to embrace collaboration and share information about its successes and failures if we’re to accelerate the development of new treatments for patients.

“Our partnership with Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� is a great opportunity for us to combine our drug development expertise with the research skills of the academic scientists based at this world leading hub for life sciences research. Centred around our own clinical trials unit located within the city’s main hospital, we’re perfectly placed to work together to translate cutting edge early stage science in to innovative new medicines.”

GSK, the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge and Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust today announce their Strategic Partnership, with the long-term ambition to jointly deliver new medicine to patients in the next 5-10 years.

Our vision for the Cambridge Biomedical Campus is to pursue world-leading biomedical research and translate this into new or improved diagnostics and treatments. Key to this vision are partnerships with industry

Patrick Maxwell, Regius Professor of Physic

Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute

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̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge to establish two new Blood and Transplant Research Units

sjr81 — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 15:07:08 +0000

Cambridge has received funding for two units under the £12.1 million scheme. ̽��ֱ��Units will be centres of excellence in human experimental medicine related to blood and transplantation and will have a strong focus on translation. They will support the delivery of objectives and functions of NHS Blood and Transplant, by creating an environment where world-class research, focused on the organisation’s needs, can thrive, and will provide high quality research evidence to inform decision making at NHS Blood and Transplant.

Speaking about the partnership funding awards, Dr Lorna Williamson, Medical and Research Director at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: "I am delighted that the Department of Health, through the NIHR, continues to recognise the importance of blood and transplantation research. This funding supports ambitious experimental research projects that will inform future clinical practice for services that NHS Blood and Transplant provides to the NHS and beyond."

Professor Andrew Bradley, Head of the Department of Surgery at the ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge, in partnership with Professor Andrew Fisher from Newcastle ̽��ֱ��, will establish a unit focused on organ donation and transplantation. ̽��ֱ��Cambridge/Newcastle unit will focus on understanding how to improve the quality of organs prior to donation and will develop and evaluate novel approaches and technologies that increase the availability of suitable donor organs for transplantation, while improving graft survival.

Professor John Danesh from the Cambridge Institute of Public Health will lead a unit focused on donor health and genomics, a new area of research for NHS Blood and Transplant. ̽��ֱ��Unit will address major questions about the health of blood donors and produce evidence-based strategies to enhance donor safety while ensuring sustainability of blood supply.

̽��ֱ��Units will be based at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, part of the Cambridge ̽��ֱ�� Hospitals Partnership, and located within the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, the centrepiece of the largest biotech cluster outside the United States.

Professor Bradley said: “Blood and transplantation research is vital to improving the quality, safety and availability of donation and transplantation. These two new NIHR units will play an important role in this area and inform NHS policy and practice in the future. They will further add to and capitalise on continuing growth of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.”

Professor Dame Sally C Davies FRS FMedSci, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Scientific Adviser at the Department of Health, said: “ ̽��ֱ��NHS and its patients rely on an efficient supply of blood and organ donations and, increasingly, stem cells and genomics. We want researchers to explore how to improve the quality and effectiveness of these donations, therapies and technologies. ̽��ֱ��NIHR Blood and Transplant Research Units will involve NHSBT in partnerships with leading university teams so that we can accelerate and translate advances in research into benefits for donors and patients.”

A third unit is due to open at UCL ( ̽��ֱ�� College London), led by Dr Karl Peggs and focused on Stem Cells and Immunotherapies.

̽��ֱ�� ̽��ֱ�� of Cambridge has received £7.9 million from the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) to fund Blood and Transplant Research Units. Each Unit is a partnership between ̽��ֱ�� researchers and NHS Blood and Transplant, and will begin in October 2015.

Blood and transplantation research is vital to improving the quality, safety and availability of donation and transplantation.

Andrew Bradley

Siringa

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